Typewriting machine



Feb. 28,, 1933. w HELMQND 1,899,034

'TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed May 2, 1930 INVENTOR:

Patented Feb. 28, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WILLIAM HELMOND, OFWEST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOB 1'0 UNDERWOOD I ELLIOTT FISHERCOMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE IYTPEW'BITINGMACHINE Application filed Kay 8, 1830. Serial No. 449,177.

This invention relates to the tabulati mechanisms for the carriages ofUnderwoo and other typewriting machines, and the means for controllingthe speed of the released carriage.

Certain of the improvements are suitable for typewriter-carriages ofstandard length having about ei ht inches travel, but one of the objectsof t e invention is to improve the tabulating mechanism of a longcarriage and also to improve the action of the carriage when released.Sometimes a long carriage travels twenty-four inches or more, andoccasionally the carriage ma jump fifteen or twenty inches, and it isdesired to prevent the carriage from gaining undue momentum in a longjump. The long carriages are heavy, and injury would occur to themachine by suddenly arresting the heavy carriage if running at highspeed. On the other hand, it is desired not to devote too much time tothe carria e-jumping operation.

In the nderwood typewriters that are used for typing ordinacorrespondence in which there is not muc occasion for ta u- 'lating, itis contrived that the key which releases the carriage at the tabulatingoperation shall also press a stationary bar against a brake-pad that isfixed on the carriage, so that the jumping carriage is subjected to somerestraint. The carriage, however, is not fully under control, althoughlittle or no injury results from sudden arrest of the carriage, sincethe carriage is light and since the tabulating mechanism is usedinfrequently. The friction pad is subject to wear. v

In some machines there is provided an extra rack u n the carriage, whichmeshes with a pinlon, and thereby rotates a friction disk, which servesas a check against excessive carriage speed. This does not insantlycheck the carriage, and, moreover, the friction is usually inetlicientwhere the carriage has a long range and is traveling at increasingspeed.

Machines have also been made'with centrifugal governors, Where thepressure of the carriage-brake is increased by the increasing speed ofthe carriage, but these may allow the carriage to make a considerablejump without checking it at all; and if the speed of the carriage shouldrise very much, the centrifugal governor would supply too great a brakmgpower. Any kind of a revolving brake has to be set for a certaincarriage speed, but at other speeds the brake -is apt to develop faults.

All of the centrifugal devices are expensive and add to the Weight ofthe carriage and moving parts.

An object of the resent invention is to provide a simple an inexpensivecarriageretarding device, which is also reliable, and is efficient forboth long and short 'umps of the carriage, and prevents shocks fromsudden arrest of the rapidly moving long heavy carriage, and does notrequire to be set for any speed, and is economical of time of thetabulating operation, and places the action of the carriage entirelyunder the control of the operator.

In the preferred manner of carr ing out the invention, a brake-strap isexten ed from one end of the carriage to the other. Upon themachine-frame there is provided a pair of jaws, faced with leather orsuitable padded friction material; these jaws bein adapted to bite uponsaid strap. One of t e jaws is movable, and is connected to thetabulatorkey that releases the carriage from the control of theescapement-mcchanism; the other jaw does not need to move.

When a tabular-key is depressed, one jaw presses the brake-band a ainstthe other jaw, and as the band travels, t ere is a double frictionincurred, one upon each surface of the band, so that the efficiency ofthe brake is double, and it is easily controlled by the key. There maybe suflicient flexibility of the band to insure the desired coactionbetween the same and the friction jaws, since even if the band is slack,the movable jaw brings it firmly against the fixed .jaw. Moreover, it isno longer necessary to rovide an accurately formed and mounted rake-barhaving coaction with a single brake shoe, as heretomay occur in thetravel of a longcarriage.

4} riage-brakin The active jaw is provided with an arm which carries astationary counterstop, which is projected into the path of thecolum'n-stops mounted upon the typewriter-carriage.

e rocking jaw also has an arm which operates the carriage-releasemechanism, and t e parts are so set that the carriage is released at themoment that both shoes grip the brake-band; but the carriage-releasingmechanism is capable of bein still further rocked, to permit themovableirake to force the band harder against the stationary brake, soas to retard the carriage more effectively.

The device is sufliciently under the control of the operator to rmit himto release the carriage and let it ump freely for nearly all of a longstroke, and the pressure u on the tabulator-key may be increasedsharp ynear the end of the carriage-stroke, thereby grad-- ually checking thecarriage and preventing shock when arrested by the column-stops. This isa time-saving device, since the operator does not have to wait while thecarriage takes a long time in making long jumps slowly.

The carriage is suitably checked b the opertaor, and not too sharplyarreste and has little or no tendency to rebound, thus overcoming adrawback in tabulating typewriters.

A further improvement relates to the manner of mounting and operatingthe column-, stops on the carriage, and one of its main objects is tocompact the column-stop mechanism, to lighten it, and reduce its costand make it more reliable. To the end portions of a carriage areattached rearwardly-extending brackets, which carry a column-stop barhaving teeth on opposite sides, the column-sto s having forks insertedbetween the teeth the bar. The above-mentioned brake-band is placed nearthe top of the carriage, extending along its rear. Above the bar ismounted a column-stop locatin scale, and this scale can be swung upwar yand forwardly to a position for convenient reading. While it is swungup, the column-stops are arranged along the bar asdesired, to

;, make use of the scale when locating the stops.

Then the scale is pressed down and a flange that is provided upon thescale locks the coluxnn-sto upon the bar.

The a oresaid arm which carries the carjaw is hinged upon the fixedframework 0 the typewriting machine, preferably upon the standards whichcarry the rear carriage-guide rod. Said jaw extends upwardly andrearwardly from its hinge, a column-stop being secured to the upper endof the arm just behind and below the column-stop rack, the whole makinga very compact structure at the rear of the paperca The main stopextends radially Q of ita pivot, and therefore o cupies an obliqueposition when viewed inside elevation. The column-stop bar is given acorrespondin obliquity for compactness, efliciency, lig tness andfnexpensiveness. Moreover the brake does not ress against the carria 0itself, and thus t ere is obviated the ten ency of the usual brake tocause the carriage to bind and wear upon its tracks.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawing,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of an Underwood typewritingmachine having my invention applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a partial cross-sectional view, from front-to rear, of thestructure shown in Figure 1, the braking mechanism being shown inreleased position.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, the braking mechanism beingshown in effective position.

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view, illustrating the operating principle ofmy improve brakt'ng mechanism.

Figure 5 is a detail view, illustrating the construction of one of thebrake-jaw members of my invention.

In the typewriting machine, types strike against a platen 11 on aplaten-shaft 12, mounted in a carriage 13, traveling on a front rail(not shown) and a rear rail 14, mounted upon a main frame 15.

As a type 10 is swung by a key against the platen 11, the carriage 13 isletter-spaced to the left by a spring-motor 16 and band 17. Av rack 18,displaceably mounted on the carriage 13, normally engages a pinion 20,fastened to a ratchet-wheel 21, whose step-bystep rotation is controlledby dogs 22, mounted on the main frame for operation by a universal bar(not shown). The abovenamed parts are, found in the Underwoodlong-carriage typewritt'ng machine.

A flexible carriage-braking strap 23 is mounted upon the carriage bymeans of a rearwardly-extending bracket 24, secured by screws 25 upon acrosswise frame-member 26 at the rear side of the carriage. Arearwardly-extending bracket 27 may be mounted by screws 25 on theframe-member 26. adiacent the other end of the carriage 13. Thewear-resisting brake-strap 23 may be made of suitable flexible metal,and may have each end' fastened, as by screws 28, to fastening members30. One member 30 is secured strongly by screws 31 to the bracket 24 andthe other to the bracket 27 in a like manner by screws 31.

For compactly mounting the various elements of the mechanism, thebrake-strap-fastening members are preferably shaped substantially asshown in Figures 1 and 2, and nprmally hold the brake-strap 23 in anoblique p ane.

A bifurcated brake-jaw, generally desigescapee nated as 32, is mountedin the rear of strap 23, and a fixed brake-j aw, generally designated as33, in front of the strap. A rock-shaft 34 is mounted on pintles 35 ofstuds 36, threaded in usual corner-post extensions 37 of the main frame15. The brake-jaw 32 has two branches 38 coaxially apertured forengaging with a tight fit on the shaft 34, adj aoent the ratchetwheel21, a short distance to the rear of the latter. A set-screw 40 engagesthrough each branch 38 and secures the brake-j aw member 32 on the shaft34, to provide angular movement of the member and the shaft together. Abrake-shoe element 41, of cork or other suitable material, may besecurely fastened to the brake-jaw member 32, so as to be disposedopposite from and nearly parallel to the strap 23 in the rear thereof.

The brake-j aw member 33 may be formed from sheet-metal, and have twobranches 42, each curled around the shaft 34, to permit the member 33 toturn about the shaft. The outside width of the branches 42 is such thatthey will fit snugly between the branches 38, and are thereby heldagainst lateral displacement. A brake-shoe element 43, of a materiallike the shoe-element 41, may be fastened, as by rivet-s 44, to thejaw-member 33, so that its work-face will be disposed parallel to andclosely adjacent the strap 23.

A torsion spring 45 is coiled about the shaft 34 between the branches38, and one end of the spring presses against the member 32, and theother end presses against the member 33. To holdthebrake-j aw member 33against angular movement, it has an integral forwardly-extendingstop-lug 46 with a down-turned portion 47 arranged for engaging a ainsta usual ball-bearing casing 48, which orms an element of theescapement-mechanism, and is supported by the frame 15.

When it is desired to have the carriage 13 move leftwardly apredetermined distance, more than a single letter-space, the operatordepresses tabulator-key 50, mounted on a keylever 51, which is fulcrumedabout a usual rod 52, the depression of the key-lever being yieldinglyresisted by a spring 53. The key-lever 51 is connected by anupwardly-extending link 54 to a forwardly-extending arm 55, fastened inthe shaft 34. The link 54 has a slot 56 engaging about a pin 57 in thelever 51, and the link is loosely fastened to the arm 55 by a screw 58.

A tappet 60, fastened in the shaft 34, extends forwardly andterminatesin a ball-element 61. The ball 61 is disposed adj acent. an upper faceof the rear end of a lever 62, which extends forwardly under the rack18, and is pivoted between the ball 61 and the rack on arightwardly-extending stud 63, fastened in a usual uprightcolumn-element 64 of the main frame 15, provided for mounting theescapement-mechanism.

A roller 65 is mounted on the end of the lever 62 in a substantiallyvertical plane, and is normally disposed a short distance below ashoulder-element 66 at the base of teeth 67 on the rack 18. Thework-face of the brake 41, in starting position, is spaced from theworkface of the brake-shoe 43 a distance having a predetermined relationto the distance of the uppermost part of the roller 65 from the shoulder66, so that upon initial depression of the key 50, the brake-shoe 41moves the brakestrap 23 up against the brake-shoe 43 net before theroller 65 is swung up far enou h to raise the rack 18 out of engagementwit the pinion 20.

Upon disengagementof the rack 18 and the pinion 20, the spring-motor 16moves the a carriage 13 to the left at a speed which varies according tothe pressure of the brake-shoes 41 and'43 on the strap 23, which movesbetween the brake-shoes, being connecied to the carriage. The pressureof the brake-shoes 41 and 43 on this strap can be controlled by thepressure of the operators finger on the key 50.

To bring the carriage 13 to a stop after it has been released fromcontrol of the letterspace mechanism, an upreaching stop-tooth 70 isintegrally joined to a base-member 71, mounted on a rear extension 73 ofthe brakejaw 32, as by rivets 72. Also the base-member may have a keyelement 74 for engaging izn a suitable slot in the brake-jaw extension Arack 75, of rectangular cross-section, has teeth 76 of a well-known formcut in two opposite faces, the teeth being one letterspace distanceapart. The rack may be mounted on a carriage by means hereinafterdescribed in an oblique plane substantially parallel to the plane of thebrake-strap 23. Bifurcated column-stops 7 7 of a usual design aremounted on the-rack 75 at desired points, such as those corresponding tocolumnar divisions of a. work-sheet (not shown). The rack 75 ispositioned so that when the brakej aw member 32 is swung up to effectivebraking position, the tooth 70 is moved into the path of thecolumn-stops 77 on the rack 75, and the nearest stop to the right of thetooth 70 is moved squarely up against it and brings I help to transmitthe carriage-stopping impact strain coming on the rack 75 to the leftextension 80.

A feature of the present invention resides in the provision of animproved tabular scale.

it w

'ward displacement on two pivoted hingeinembers 88, one at each end ofthe crosspiece 86; Each hinge-member has a rearward shelf-extension 89,on which the crosspieoe 86 rests, and an integral forwardlyextendingflange-element 90, which is apertured for receiving a pivot-screw 91,which is threaded in an upwardly-extending arm 92 of a bracket 93,mounted on top of the end portion of the rack by the screws 81.

The cross-piece 86 serves an additional purpose by having a down-turnedflange-member 94, whose lower edge normally engages behind a usualshoulder of the column-stops 77. The crossiece thereby serves as alockdevice for holdin the column-stops securely in position. Aeaf-spring detent-member 96 may be mounted on the left-hand bracket 93by one of the screws 81. When it is desired to reset the column-sfiops77. the detentspring holding screw 81 may be slightly loosened, thespring swung aside, and the cross-piece swung up to the positionindicated in dot-and-dash o'utline in Figure 2. The column-stops 77 maythen be changed, and the crossiece swung down again and secured inpliice by the detent-member.

Variat1ons may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, andportions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention, I

claim:

1. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a laterally movablecarriage, means for urging said carriage in the direction of i sletter-s ace travel, and mechanism for letter-spacing said carriage, ofkey-controlled means for releasing said carriage from saidletter-spacing mechanism, whereby it is free to be moved rapidly by saidurging means, instrumentalities for applying a manually variable brakingforce to the released car riage to retard the lateral movement thereof,said instrumentalities including a laterally disposed brake-strap onsaid carriage and two laterally fixed brake-jaw members mounted on saidmachine on opposite sides of said strap. one of said jaw-members movablefor pressing said brake-strap against the other aw-member as it moveswith said carriage between them. and devices for stopping said carriage,said stopping devices including laterally adjustablecolumn-s"ops on saidcarriage. and a stop-tooth on said movable brakejaw member movable intothe path of said column-stops upon the operation of said braking-forceinstrumentalities.

2. In a typewriting machine. the combination with a stationary mainframe. a left 'wardly-urged carriage and a letter-spacing releasing saidcarriage from control of said" letter-spacin mechanism, including alaterally dispose rock-shaft on said mam frame,

a key operatively connected to said shaft for rotatively movin the same,and a connection between said sha t and said mechanism, a laterallydisposed strap on said carriage substantially parallel to saidrock-shaft, two latorally-fixed brake-jaws on said rock-shaft arrangedfor pressing said brake-stra between them upon rotation of said sha bysaid key, a settable carriage-stop on said carriage, and a member on oneof said brake-jaws arran ed for engaging said carriage-sto and arrestingthe leftward movement of sai carriage, said stop-member being moved toeflective position u on rotation of said rock-shaft.

3. The com ination with a sprin -propelled letter-feeding carriage, of ata ulatmg mechanism including a key-operated rock-shaft,carriage-releasmg means operated by said rock-shaft, a friction strapanchored at its ends to the rear portion of the carriage, a stationaryfriction jaw for cooperation with said strap, and an arm extendingupwardly from said rock-shaft and having a friction surface for pressingsaid strap against said stationary friction jaw when the carriage isreleased, said arm having an upward extension provided with acounter-stop for engagement with a column-stop upon the upper rearportion of the carriage, the column-stop being adjustable along a rackwhich is accessibly mounted upon the upper rear portion of the carriage.

4. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a spring-propelledcarriage and a letter-spacing mechanism, of manually-operableinstrumentalities effective for releasing said carriage from control ofsaid letter-spacing mechanism, and devices for applying a braking forceeffective for restraining said carriage when released from said letter-sacing mechanism, said braking devices inc uding a yieldable brake-strapand two brakejaws to grip the strap, each jaw having a friction surface,a key-operated arm upon which one of said jaws is provided, and acarriagearresting stop upon said arm.

5. The combination with a letter-feeding typewriter-carriage and atabulating mechanism, of a carriage-retarding device therefor, acounter-stop connected to be moved to effective position when thecarriage is relased, a shouldered detachable column-stop co-operatingwith said counter-stop to arrest the carriage, a rack provided on saidcarriage for adjustably supporting said column-stop, and a bail hingedupon the carriage and including a locking bar extending along said rackto engage the shoulder on the column-stop, said rack, column-stop andlocking bar being mounted on the upper rear portion of the caraacessibiepcsi'rb'ifim and. said carriage rai sasing and retarding devicesincluding a raclmhaf; @0211 which extends fipwayly carrying saidcountewsmp, said arm having frictien jaw, strap pressefl 8 W'B8Il saidirictien jaw mammary riccion jaw 11pm: the m chi'w.

